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Astronomers discover missing link for origin of comets
September 05, 2008An international team of scientists that includes University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an unusual object whose backward and tilted orbit around the Sun may clarify the origins of certain comets.
In the first discovery of its kind, researchers from Canada, France and the United States have discovered an object that orbits around the Sun backwards, and tilted at an angle of 104 degrees - almost perpendicular to the orbits of the planets.
"Certain types of comets are not naturally produced after planet formation, especially those with highly tilted orbits," says Prof. Gladman. "This discovery may finally show how they transition from the Oort Cloud to become objects like Halley's Comet."
Composed of icy rock, 2008 KV42 is called a "trans-Neptunian" object since its orbital path is larger than that of Neptune. The object is roughly 50 kilometres across and at present 35 times further from than the Sun than Earth.
The orbits of such objects in the region beyond Neptune's orbit provide fresh insights into the early history of our solar system, says Gladman, who teaches in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and holds the Canada Research Chair in Planetary Astronomy.
The international team has been carrying out a targeted search for objects with highly tilted orbits. Their discovery was made using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, with follow-up observations provided by the MMT telescope in Arizona, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) four-metre telescope in Chile, and the Gemini South telescope, also in Chile, in which Canada is a partner.
"Having quick access to the MMT and Gemini South telescopes, via the generous support of the observers and directors, was critical here. Given the highly unusual orbit, the object would have been lost without the rapid tracking from these large telescopes," says Gladman.
University of British Columbia
Composed of icy rock, 2008 KV42 is called a "trans-Neptunian" object since its orbital path is larger than that of Neptune. The object is roughly 50 kilometres across and at present 35 times further from than the Sun than Earth.
The orbits of such objects in the region beyond Neptune's orbit provide fresh insights into the early history of our solar system, says Gladman, who teaches in the Dept. of Physics and Astronomy and holds the Canada Research Chair in Planetary Astronomy.
The international team has been carrying out a targeted search for objects with highly tilted orbits. Their discovery was made using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, with follow-up observations provided by the MMT telescope in Arizona, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) four-metre telescope in Chile, and the Gemini South telescope, also in Chile, in which Canada is a partner.
"Having quick access to the MMT and Gemini South telescopes, via the generous support of the observers and directors, was critical here. Given the highly unusual orbit, the object would have been lost without the rapid tracking from these large telescopes," says Gladman.
University of British Columbia
Comet Current Events and Comet News RSSRosetta bound for outer Solar System after final Earth swingby
This morning, mission controllers confirmed that ESA's comet chaser Rosetta had swung by Earth at 8:45 CET as planned, skimming past our planet to pick up a gravitational boost for an epic journey to rendezvous with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014.
ESA spacecraft may help unravel cosmic mystery
When Europe's comet chaser Rosetta swings by Earth tomorrow for a critical gravity assist, tracking data will be collected to precisely measure the satellite's change in orbital energy. The results could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades.
Follow Rosetta's final Earth boost
ESA's comet chaser Rosetta will swing by Earth for the last time on 13 November to pick up energy and begin the final leg of its 10-year journey to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. ESA's European Space Operations Centre will host a media briefing on that day.
'Ultra-primitive' particles found in comet dust
Dust samples collected by high-flying aircraft in the upper atmosphere have yielded an unexpectedly rich trove of relicts from the ancient cosmos, report scientists from the Carnegie Institution.
Cassini Helps Redraw Shape of Solar System
In a paper published Oct. 15 in Science, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) present a new view of the region of the sun's influence, or heliosphere, and the forces that shape it. Images from one of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument's sensors, the Ion and Neutral Camera (MIMI/INCA), on NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggest that the heliosphere may not have the comet-like shape predicted by existing models.
NASA Goddard visualization team previews lunar impact
At 7:30 a.m. EDT on October 9, a two-ton rocket body will slam into a crater near the moon's south pole. By studying the resulting plume of gas and dust, scientists hope this grand experiment will confirm the presence of ice in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles.
CU-Boulder space scientists set for final spacecraft flyby of Mercury
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft, which is toting an $8.7 million University of Colorado at Boulder instrument, will make its third and final flyby of Mercury on Sept. 29 -- a clever gravity-assist maneuver that will steer it into orbit around the rocky planet beginning in March 2011.
Sea level stargazing: Astronomers make key sighting with Fla. telescope
This summer, University of Florida astronomers inaugurated the world's largest optical telescope on a nearly 8,000-foot mountaintop 3,480 miles away.
Deep Impact and Other Spacecraft Find Clear Evidence of Water on Moon
New data from the Deep Impact spacecraft and the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), an instrument aboard India's recently ended Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, provide, for the first time, clear evidence that water exists on the surface of the Moon.
Key process for space outpost proved on 'vomit comet' ride
Flying high over the Gulf of Mexico, researchers from NASA and Case Western Reserve University found a key to unlocking oxygen from the surface of the moon.
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